The Fox and The Hound
by Cerebral Seraphim
Summary: Yes, it's another Naruto fanfic. Still, Kiba/Hina this time, less seen than a lot of other pairings, despite making more sense. Well, have fun! If you like it then yay! If not tell me why, I'd like to know.
1. Chapter 1

**The Fox and The Hound**

**Chapter 1**

The halls of the Hokage's building were coated in dust. Apparently it had been sufficiently busy recently that cleaning had taken a back seat. A resounding crash echoed from around the nearest corner, shattering the seemingly timeless silence of Konoha's early morning life. Shino sighed inwardly, it seemed Kiba had arrived already. "Hey! I was just..." Shino was slightly surprised, he hadn't expected to hear Naruto's voice, he hadn't even thought Naruto would be up this early. "No," Tsunade's voice bellowed, making Naruto's protests pale by comparison, "I told you, this mission was assigned to team 8 for a reason. You will have to wait!" "But I'm bored of training, I've perfected my new..." Tsunade quickly cut off the yellow haired ninja's whining, "I don't care. Get out!" With this last sentence there was another crash as Naruto was sent flying out of Tsunade's door and into the opposite wall. Hinata followed out soon afterwards, "N-Naruto, are you all right?" She asked, kneeling beside him. Shino too came closer to his beleaguered comrade. Naruto looked up a little bleary eyed, "I'm okay, Hinata..." Despite that his voice was unsteady, like that of a drunkard. "I'm glad to hear it," Shino said, genuinely glad that his friend was unharmed. Naruto let out a small scream, "Wah! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Shino was downcast, he hadn't meant to sneak up on anyone, he was just concerned. "Naruto, you should be more careful what you say. Why? Because otherwise, you might hurt the feelings of someone who's concerned about you."

"Huh?" Naruto, as always, was a little put off by Shino's slightly odd mode of speech. Shino didn't respond, he was standing with his back to Naruto, already marching into Tsunade's office, "Hinata, let's hurry." Hinata nodded, "Um... I-I'll s-s-see you around, N-Naruto." Naruto nodded, rubbing his head and staring after Shino. "What was that about...?"

Inside the Hokage's office books and scrolls were, as usual, strewn chaotically about the place, covering each and every available surface. Kiba was already waiting inside, he smiled to see Shino, "Hey! What kept you? I mean, I know it's early but normally you're the one keeping on at me to be on time!" "Sorry, I was collecting some rare insects and I lost track of time." Shino's voice didn't sound apologetic but both Kiba and Hinata had learned by that point that he didn't say anything he didn't mean. Kiba chuckled, "Heh heh, nah, we just got here too. So did Naruto." Kiba couldn't contain another small chuckle as he thought of Naruto's argument with Tsunade. This happened more or less every day but Naruto never seemed to learn. "He's spirited anyway, right Hinata?" Kiba took great pleasure in teasing Hinata about her infatuation for the orange-clad genin. Hinata blushed, she always did, she never had, and probably never would, stop being embarrassed by Kiba's jokes. Tsunade cleared her throat meaningfully, "Ahem, if you don't mind." Team 8 turned as one to face Tsunade, they knew what it meant when their Hokage started sounding businesslike – something was seriously amiss. Tsunade motioned to Shizune who rummaged briefly through the documents that littered a nearby table before producing a large scroll and laying it in front of Tsunade. "We have recently received disturbing reports of potentially hostile activity on our borders with the Grass Country. Nothing has been confirmed yet but there are too many reports for us to ignore it, even though we're supposed to be at peace with the Grass Country. This is not a combat mission but reconnaissance, this is why your team is perfectly suited for this mission and why Naruto was not allowed to go. As the vast majority of our jounin are already occupied you will be unaccompanied for this mission so, let me stress once again, combat," she said, looking particularly at Kiba, "Is to be avoided at all costs." The three chuunin nodded and vanished from the room, already bounding across the rooftops of Konoha.

As they approached the western walls of Konoha there was little dialogue between the team, each was wrapped in their own thoughts, mainly about the threat of an invasion. Surprisingly it was Shino who broke the silence, one moment he was a little way ahead of the other two, a position normally occupied by Kiba, the next he had appeared between them. "So, why would the Grass Country invade us? There are many obvious answers, power, land, prestige money. The **real** question is why now? They probably have some plan or secret weapon or an alliance that they think will help them defeat us, something of tremendous strength that can enhance their power many times over. Simply put it would be something sufficiently strong to help them overcome a country several times the size of their own." Kiba grinned, for once he had come up with something Shino hadn't, "Maybe, yeah, but Lady Tsunade said that most of our jounin are occupied right now. Maybe that's why they're attacking." "But how would they know that? Considering our village is home to users of both Byakugan and Sharingan, getting a spy into our midst is difficult at the best of times. The fact that most of our jounin are absent would make it more so as an effective spy would have to be in a position of some significance ergo a spy in such a position would be more noticeable," Shino explained, Hinata nodded emphatically. Kiba, repressing a growl, leapt on ahead, a little irritated, even embarrassed, to have missed something that both of his team mates seemed to have picked up on – again. "K-Kiba...." Hinata whispered, barely audible to herself let alone anyone else. She felt a little bad for him, wondering if she or Shino could have been more tactful. Kiba was, in fact, less phased by it than she was. "All right, so that's out the window," he said, grinning, "But what kind of weapon could have that much power?" The group fell silent, none of them could imagine anything that could be that strong. Shino shook his head, "No need to guess. Our job is to find out."

At Konoha's west gate they were greeted by two familiar, if not commonly noticed, faces. "Wait a... Oh, it's you guys," Izumo said, "Don't worry, Tsunade said you'd be coming. A little earlier than this actually," finished Kotetsu. The duo had been, of late, even more inseparable than usual people almost never saw one without the other. Izumo waved them through, making a note in a large notebook that lay open on the desk in front of him. "Good luck, all of you." Izumo smiled at them as he spoke, adjusting the headband that he wore as a bandanna. Kotetsu gave them a wave as they left before turning back to his partner. "So, like I was saying..." None of them heard the rest of that sentence as they sped out of earshot. "Hey," Kiba said, as soon as he was sure they wouldn't be overheard, "Did anyone ever figure out exactly **why** Kotetsu wears that bandage?" Hinata shrugged, "M-Maybe he was injured...?" "Who knows? That's why it's so interesting. Like Kakashi's face mask or..." He didn't finish that sentence but he and Hinata shared a significant glance in Shino's direction. They had been team mates for over three years but had never really seen his face. Kiba smiled and Hinata couldn't suppress a slight giggle. "What's so funny?" Hinata flushed bright red and Kiba struggled to find an explanation that wouldn't upset Shino, the otherwise emotionless ninja could be a little fragile at times."Uh..." At that moment Akamaru stopped, giving a low bark. Kiba, silently giving thanks to fate, turned to face his closest friend, "What's up Akamaru?" Akamaru growled briefly and barked again. "Already? We haven't even reached border town yet." Hinata and Shino looked at him, curiosity written across Hinata's face, Shino as inexpressive as ever. Kiba looked at them, grinning a savage grin, "We're being tracked."

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AN: Hello! Okay, I'm a long time writer, but this is my first fanfic in ages so I'll ask you now to rate honestly; if you feel like being harsh then do so, it's the only way I'll learn! For the record I don't own anything that appears in this except, I guess, some of the villains. Anyway, enjoy! By the way, in case it's unclear, which it may be at the moment, I'm using the shippuden cast.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Kotetsu glanced at his watch, "Oh man, how can it only be quarter past six? I'd swear we've been here hours." Izumo chuckled,

"Your watch has stopped." Kotetsu blinked and stared at his wrist, seemingly unable to believe the evidence of his eyes, "Oh yeah, so it has..." Izumo gave his friend an affectionate punch on the arm, "You idiot," he said, jokingly. Kotetsu shrugged,

"Well, I was up all of last night running errands for Lady Tsunade. Hey, remember when we used to do **real** missions?" Izumo sighed, slightly exasperated by his partner's impetuousness.

"You should take more pride in your work; after all, guarding the village is the most important task a ninja can perform." Kotetsu laughed,

"Yeah, I guess. But it's still dull." Izumo gave another chuckle,

"You're such a child sometimes. You haven't been eating syrup again have you? I keep telling you that's not good for you..."

"Maybe..." Kotetsu posed for a moment like a guilty child. "Heh, it's done me no harm so far." Izumo shook his head, "Whatever, man." The two friends sat together in silence for a while, each lost in his own ruminations. "Hey, Kotetsu, what do you think about this grass country stuff? I mean, do you think there's anything to it?" Kotetsu shrugged,

"I don't know, it seems unlikely that every report is fraudulent. It just seems weird that they should change their foreign policy so suddenly." Izumo bit his lip,

"You think something's up, then?"

"Most likely..." Silence once more settled upon the pair, driving them again into thought. Each one pondered what could be the cause of such a disturbance, the source and motives that could lie behind it.

Kiba charged through the undergrowth, making as much noise as he could while maintaining a convincing image of a ninja on a mission. Akamaru carried on above him, taking great leaps from branch to branch. Hinata had detected their pursuers using her byakugan, now it was just a matter of luring them into Shino's trap. The others had concealed themselves more effectively, Hinata was off to the left, slightly behind him and Shino had gone ahead to prepare. Kiba, resisting the urge to simply turn around and fight them, ran on, deliberately stumbling on a root as he did so. As Kiba came out into the open he smiled, this must be the clearing Hinata saw, where Shino was waiting. He looked around but he couldn't see his team mate. He could smell him though, Kiba was difficult to hide from. He sniffed the air, Shino was waiting to the north. He smiled and turned to Akamaru, saying, a bit louder than was quite necessary, "Guess we'll wait here, hm?" Shino had made a great show of going ahead 'to scout out the land', needless to say this was all a pretence. He hadn't told the others exactly what he was planning but they knew they could trust him; after all, he had never let them down before. Kiba sniffed the air again – there they were. Three of them, surrounding him. This could be fun.

Hinata waited in the bushes a little way off, watching Kiba with her byakugan, Shino had instructed her to await his signal so she would do so, even though she was concerned about leaving Kiba exposed to a possible attack from three separate enemies. She frowned in determination, she could not let her attention waver. She swept the surrounding area, scouting for their path of attack. There were three unfamiliar chakra signatures in the trees around Kiba's clearing, doubtless he would have detected their scents by now. She crept a little closer, moving silently through the bushes. She wanted to be as close as possible in case Kiba needed her help. She focussed on the nearest enemy, trying to detect anything unusual about them. Although their chakra signature was strong, unusually so, but beyond that they seemed to be a fairly normal ninja. She focussed on the second, scanning them for irregularities. This one's chakra signature was unusually muted, weak even. Presumably because he was making a conscious effort to suppress his chakra. Beyond that there was nothing abnormal here either. The third of their trackers was a female this, however, was the second thing Hinata noticed. The first was that the woman's chakra seemed to blaze about her like a beacon. This would almost certainly be their most dangerous foe. She resumed her scan of the surroundings, looking for any support they might have concealed in the trees, edging, once again, closer to Kiba's clearing. She hoped that Shino's plan could be put into action without too much fighting. Hinata's attention shifted again as her first target began to move, dropping into the clearing, barely even bothering to conceal his presence any more.

Shino sat, cross-legged on a branch, silently waiting for his insects to perform their task. He had sent them out a while ago to scout the clearing and investigate their opponents. He smiled as the tiny creatures zipped back and forth, encircling the clearing, a couple going backwards and forwards, bringing reports of their findings. "Hmm... Interesting." He looked up slightly, sunlight reflecting off his glasses. A huge cloud of parasitic destruction bugs swarmed from the sleeves of his coat, taking to the air, turning it black with their myriad tiny forms and filling the air with the furious buzzing of their wings. The vast swarm scattered, disappearing into their surroundings more thoroughly than any ninja could hope to do. Shino stood up and strode purposefully towards the clearing – things were about to begin. He positioned himself a little way behind the nearest opponent, this was – although he did not know it – the second of Hinata's targets. He stood silently, content, for now, to watch and gauge their enemies' strength.

Kiba grinned as another man, clad in tight fitting black clothes jumped into the clearing behind him. "Finally, I was beginning to think you were scared of me." The man looked taken aback by this, he thought the chuunin had been unaware of his presence. Kiba took full advantage of this, leaping into the air he began to revolve, spinning rapidly as he did so, essentially turning himself into a human torpedo. "Piercing Fang!" Kiba slammed into the man, spinning him round and sending him flying backwards, "Heh, that the best you can do?" Kiba grinned. The man snarled savagely, climbing to his feet, "You brat! I'll knock you down a peg or two." The man's hands described a rapid sequence of hand seals in the air, "Fire Style: Mist Covering!" The man inhaled deeply, then blew a great breath towards Kiba. Nothing could be seen to distinguish anything abnormal but Kiba could smell... "Gas!" Kiba leapt backwards as the man produced a lighter from his pocket. He grinned and flicked it open, the air between the two was engulfed in flames. Kiba was forced to retreat further, a tide of flame lapping at his ankles. "What the hell are you doing!? Do you want to start a forest fire?" There were already small flames flickering around the clearing, devouring small blades of grass. The stranger chuckled and shrugged, "Why should I care? These forests are none of my concern."

"You maniac! If you set the forest alight we'll all die!" The man's face creased in an arrogant grin,

"Really?" He stepped towards one of the smaller pyres, his hands forming further hand seals. "Fire Style: Incendiary Assimilation." The man stepped into the fire unharmed, the fire seemed to cling to him without damaging him or his clothes. The flames appeared to be funnelled into the man, rising up and gathering together, flowing into his body. Kiba growled, he would have to finish this quickly or else this psychopath probably would set the forest alight. "OK, let's go Akamaru!" Akamaru gave a low bark and leapt into battle, he and Kiba moved simultaneously, jumping once more into the air "Dual Piercing Fang!" As the pair came near to the man, each approaching from opposite sides, he grinned. "Assimilation Fire Style: Red Fury." The man's body became wreathed in fire, sending Kiba and Akamaru flying backwards. "Akamaru!" Kiba crashed to the ground but almost instantly regained his footing, "Now you're gonna pay! Here Akamaru!" He hurled a small pill to Akamaru who leapt, snapping it from the air. As soon as he swallowed the pill Akamaru's fur began to bristle and turn red and he began to grow, his already large bulk expanding until he was the size of a small horse. He gave another bark, much louder and more aggressive than before, Kiba charged at the man again, dropping onto all fours as he did so, chakra enveloping his body. The man's eyes widened in amazement as Kiba's speed increased massively, his nails lengthening. Kiba moved almost too fast for the eyes to follow, appearing in front of the man he slammed his elbow upwards into the man's stomach. "Inuzuka Style: Four Legs Technique!" Kiba followed this with a rapid uppercut, sending the man flying into the air. "Now, Akamaru!" Akamaru leapt over the man's head, startling him as he felt a warm liquid fall onto him. "What the... Did he just?" Kiba grinned,

"Heh, that's the Dynamic Marking technique. Now we'll show you something **really **impressive." Akamaru appeared at his side and Kiba leapt onto his back. "Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double Headed Wolf!" Their bodies were briefly consumed by chakra before each vanished, leaving in their place a colossal, two-headed wolf. They growled in unison. The flame user stood, seemingly un-phased. "Great, maybe I can play for real."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kotetsu looked up as the relative peace and quiet was shattered by a yell, "Who? What? Where? When?" He asked as he emerged from his half slumber, a little startled. Izumo gave a wry chuckle,  
"It appears we have company." A figure clad all in orange was rapidly approaching them from the direction of the hokage's office, "Probably," Kotetsu said, "Lady Tsunade wants us to carry more paperwork." Izumo shrugged,  
"Maybe, but I don't think even Naruto could get so excited over something like that." The pair shared a quick chuckle as the yellow haired ninja slid to a halt in front of them. His gaze flicked between the two of them, eventually settling directly in the middle before he said, "Hey, Kotetsu, Izumo, old lady Tsunade wants you in her office. Something about a top secret..." Izumo cut him off there, "If it's top secret, please don't go yelling about it here." Naruto seemed shocked for a moment but soon recovered,  
"Oh yeah, right. Anyway, that's the message." Naruto began to run off again in a different direction,  
"Oh," Kotetsu said, "Are you not coming?" Naruto pouted for a moment,  
"No. Old lady Tsunade said something about my being too noticeable." He took off again without waiting for a response,  
"Well," Izumo said, chuckling again, "If he will go around dressed in bright orange..." Kotetsu laughed at this and motioned to his partner,  
"Come on, let's go. Best not to keep Lady Tsunade waiting." Izumo nodded and took off, Kotetsu following a little way behind,  
"Maybe we can take a break from guarding the gates for a change." Izumo simply shook his head, unable to decide whether to be amused or exhausted by Kotetsu's continuing complaints.

The enormous wolf that was once Kiba and Akamaru gave a loud bark, and swung a gargantuan paw at its opponent. The strange ninja's defence activated again and the wolf retreated with a slightly singed paw. _'All right,'_ Kiba thought, _'Looks like we'll need a subtler approach.'_ Kiba circled slowly, becoming more used to the workings of this body. Of course, it wasn't all that alien for him; after all, he tended to run on four legs half the time anyway. The strange part was having two heads but one of those was under Akamaru's control anyway. This was the pinnacle of the Inuzuka's training, the ultimate goal of working to become so synchronised with their dog. After all, if they were to share a body they needed to be sufficiently close that they were practically the same entity. He struck his paw across the earth in front of him sending a large amount of dust and soil flying towards his opponent. In the wake of this wave came Kiba, snarling as he went. He struck at the man with his left paw, making a huge sweep round to catch the man from the side, hoping that the earth would act as a fire break, muffling or even extinguishing the man's defence. The enemy's skin exploded once more in crimson flame but the earth protected Kiba's paw to some extent so that he could still make contact, catapulting the man across the clearing, crashing into a tree, splintering the bark and scattering slivers of wood around the clearing. "Tch," the stranger growled, "Kids these days have no respect." He raised one hand over his head, spreading his fingers wide. A malevolent grin spread over his face as he spoke, "You know what? I think I'm really going to enjoy hurting you. Assimilation Fire Style: Coronal Mass Meteor!" A great ring of fire expanded from his palm, encompassing the surroundings and a stream of flame exploded upwards into the sky. The ring of fire above their heads wavered and turned from crimson to gold, shimmering in the sunlight. The fire that went up from the man's palm coalesced in the sky, forming a great orb of fire that seemed to outshine the sun itself.

Shikamaru leaned back among the flowers of his mother's garden, staring up at the clouds. Lying where he was he could barely be seen from a few feet away, let alone any further. Lately this had become one of his preferred places in which to relax, the rest of the village having been so busy recently, although, to be honest, he would rather be further away from the obligations of family. He sighed, wondering once again what it would be like to be a cloud. _'That,'_ he thought, _'Is the life for me, free of pressure, nobody asking me to tax myself... Yeah, that'd be great.'_ He sighed contentedly – this was the first time he'd been able to properly relax all week. Another cloud drifted across his view, pure white on the bright blue backdrop of Konoha's azure sky. A small smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes, feeling sleep creep over him. Just as he was about to drift of, however, his tranquillity was shattered by a raucous cry. "Shikamaru!? Hey, Shikamaru! Are you here?" Shikamaru opened his eyes, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "What a drag," he murmured, looking towards the source of the noise. It was coming from the door that lead form the Nara household into the garden where an awfully familiar figure stood. Shikamaru sighed, exasperatedly, climbing to his feet, "What is it, Naruto?"  
"Old lady Tsunade wants you in her office, something about a mission."  
"What a drag," said Shikamaru, for the second time in as many minutes, "Okay, I'm coming. Let's go." Naruto folded his arms across his chest, assuming what he evidently thought was an expression of affronted dignity, "I'm not involved, Tsunade said something I 'lacked subtlety'."  
"So it's a stealth mission? Something to do with the grass country then... Anyway, I'll see you around, Naruto." So saying Shikamaru walked off, seemingly lost in conjecture. Naruto watched him go, frowning, "Lack subtlety, huh? We'll see..."

Shikamaru rapped on Tsunade's door and was immediately answered, Tsunade's voice coming loudly from inside the room. "Come in!" As he entered the room he noticed Tsunade's glare and an amused glance passing between Kotetsu and Izumo. "What took you so long!? We don't have the time to hang around, this is important!" Shikamaru shrugged,  
"Sorry, I guess it must have taken Naruto a while to find me, I wasn't exactly easy to locate." Tsunade shook her head but didn't comment, they were too pressed for time.  
"Anyway, we've received new information regarding the grass country. Apparently an advance force is rapidly approaching team 8's location. I need you to go after them and try to prevent the force from discovering team 8's mission. Is possible you should do this without being seen yourselves but as they're in our country such contact can easily be passed off as self defence. All right, you have your orders. Dismissed!" Shikamaru, Kotetsu and Izumo disappeared, travelling at speed across Konoha. Shikamaru assumed a position slightly ahead of the others, despite his young age, his prodigious intelligence marked him out as the team leader. "Okay, until we know something more about our opponent's abilities it's best to play it cautiously. So for now we'll stick to something fairly simple, I'll immobilise them and you two take them out, quickly." Kotetsu and Izumo nodded, although it felt kind of weird taking orders from a sixteen year old, they had already seen Shikamaru's mind in action when they confronted Hidan and Kotetsu, as such both of them respected him and were quite happy to let the young chuunin lead.

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AN: Ok, sorry there was something of a delay, my beta's been taking a little longer than normal to respond recently due to sheer overwhelming business. Anyway, if there's anyone still reading this, enjoy. Oh, and if there's something I've done badly or could do better then please tell me! Gotta love that constructive criticism...


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